Russian pipeline plan draws EU fire

Plans to double the capacity of the Russia-backed Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany would only serve to consolidate Moscow’s grip on the European gas market, European Council President Donald Tusk warned Friday.

Central and Eastern European countries, together with Italy, forced the planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline expansion onto the agenda for the final day of the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels.

“In my perspective, Nord Stream does not help diversification, nor would it reduce our energy dependence,” Tusk told reporters after the meeting.

Among the leaders challenging the project was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, according to a diplomatic source. Although Fico cautioned it would be unwise to engage Russia head on, he stressed the importance of protecting Ukraine’s revenues earned for gas delivered across its territory to the EU.

“It doesn’t matter if elephants make love or war, the grass still gets trampled,” the source quoted Fico as saying. The Ukrainian route carries on through Slovakia, which means it also earns transit fees.

Ultimately, the EU’s position on the project will depend on the results of the European Commission’s technical and legal analysis, Tusk added.

The concern from Central and Eastern European countries is that the project would strengthen Moscow’s ability to threaten the region. Italy, however, is outraged that the EU blocked Russia’s South Stream pipeline running across the Balkans last year, in which Italy was a shareholder, but that German and other western European companies are now involved with expanding Nord Stream — especially after the EU imposed sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea last year and its support of armed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

For these countries, the aim of the discussion Friday was to put pressure on Germany, which has made little public comment about the project, and draw more attention from the United States, which also opposed the South Stream project, according to an EU source.

It was a “very tough debate, very emotional debate,” Tusk said.

The leaders agreed to emphasize that any infrastructure project built in Europe must comply with the EU’s energy union project, which aims to diversify the bloc’s energy supply and routes, as well as other laws.

“We have discussed also the geopolitical context and the problems that it would create for drying up the transit through Ukraine,” Tusk added, noting that Nord Stream 2 would put 80 percent of Russia’s gas exports into one route.

Political, not commercial

Ukraine’s state gas company Naftogaz sees the Nord Stream 2 project as an attempt to financially destabilize the country, CEO Andriy Kobolyev told POLITICO in Brussels before the summit.

“The real argument is political, it’s not commercial. Since Ukraine cannot be defeated in the military way … this is the easiest financial way to make Ukraine financially unstable,” he said.

Gazprom announced the project in September together with Germany’s E.ON and BASF/Wintershall, France’s ENGIE, Austria’s OMV and British-Dutch Shell. Just why Gazprom wanted to add 55 billion cubic meters of capacity to a pipeline operating at half capacity and at a time when the EU doesn’t foresee a spike in gas demand raised questions about Russia’s intentions.

“If you look at Gazprom, at any project, you will immediately notice that Gazprom is the vehicle of the Russian government,” Kobolyev said.

The worry in Kiev is that Russia wants to stop using Ukraine as a transit country after the current contract expires in 2019, something that earns the cash-strapped government $2 billion a year.

“The clear aim of this project is to make sure that Ukraine does not have the financial means to survive as a state,” said Kobolyev.

There is a mixed message coming out of Moscow. On Thursday during his year-end news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was not sure that Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine should end.

“Someone stated during discussions that we should end this transit altogether. I’m not sure whether this is necessary,” he said, according to Russian media.

Related stories on these topics:

jubus

Western Europe, especially Germany and Austria were trying to lecture Poland, Slovakia, Hungary about “refugees” and were spitting hate and propaganda, related to so called “lack of solidarity”. Sorry, but neither Germany nor rest of Western Europe, has shown The Solidarity with Central Europe. Everyone wants to make a business on its own, hypocrisy is everywhere.
Let Germans create NordStream, but stay quiet about “refugees”, you want to take them, take them all. We will not.

Posted on 12/18/15 | 7:10 PM CET

John Sanford

Unfortunately, the Russians have corrupted Western European leaders, and ex-leaders, to PR for their own projects. Schroeder of Germany is one of them, propagandizing for Putin’s regime…

Posted on 12/18/15 | 9:50 PM CET

Verita-Semper

The hypocrites in Germany sign their sweet deal with Russia, undermining European energy security and then demand solidarity from the rest of Europe, especially wagging their fingers at the eastern countries to take in “their fair share” of refugees invited by Ms. Merkel to Germany!

In Berlin’s view, solidarity is a one-way street! What else is new…

Posted on 12/19/15 | 1:07 AM CET

Klaus Wenders

Baltic pipeline comes on a request from the German energy corporations. Where is the problem? The more Pipelines are built, the more flexible the transport routes are. German companies have already paid an enormous price for geopolitical games. It is enough! Germany already spends too much money on Poland, and generally do not earn any in return

Posted on 12/19/15 | 4:29 AM CET

Giuseppe Marrosu

In comments, jubus suggests the following compromise: let Germany and Russia “create NordStream” (it’s actually North Stream 2, North Stream is already in place) and let eastern states refuse the refugees.
This way, Russia’s imperialism will be strengthen, Ukraine will suffer even more and European solidarity will be weakened. Maybe then Ukraine will collapse and split, and ukrainian refugees will flood the EU’s eastern border. Then Poland, Slovakia, Hungary will ask for Germany, Austria and the rest of Western Europe for help. But public opinion in the latter group of countries, remindful of the lack of solidarity of the former one, will convince their government to refuse.
Everybody loses, except, maybe, Russia: western EU, eastern EU, the EU as a whole, the refugees.
What, instead, if Germany stops cooperation with NS2 and all EU member states accept their right share of refugees? Russian imperialist plans are twarted, Ukraine has more chances of survival and ultimately become independent of russian gas transit revenues, the EU is better set to respond to crises involving any member. Everybody wins but Putin.
If we want to boost EU energy supply security we should build a route crossing the Caspian sea, Georgia and the Black sea for central asian and Azerbaijan’s oil, bypassing not only Ukraine but Russia and Turkey also, develop renewables especially in southern Europe and North Africa and strengthen our own network, not try to suffucate Ukraine.

Posted on 12/19/15 | 10:28 AM CET

Reality Check

Eastern Europe, in particular those member states with an acute case of transit fee phobia is in overdrive, evoking all sorts of excuses of Russian aggression, diversification from one supply route to just another, schemes of weakening economies and anything else they can throw into the mix, including the kitchen sink. Ukraine takes the lead, in its accusations of political motives when it itself has made unencumbered transit a fantasy for over a decade and now goes into its typical overdrive.

There’s one and one only reason for Nord Stream II and that is, a supplier looking for a reliable route for its supply. Everything else is pure political hogwash.

Posted on 12/20/15 | 3:27 PM CET

pexi

It’s not a Russian pipeline but a German one…we are not any more in Europe we are in Germany…All key positions and by consequence decision are taken by German or their acting muppets…

Posted on 12/21/15 | 10:29 AM CET

jubus

I agree with Mr Giuseppe. I do not say, that I support NordStream, on the contrary I support alternatives to Russian gas. I only critisize German position. Mr. Klaus Wenders say absolutely disgusting piece of propaganda. Poland is already dominated by German business and Germans do not pay us for anything than to earn more, from their investment. It is rather Poland which feeds Germany, not the opposite.
Germany acts in typical, hypocritical way. I know German and German geopolitics very well. It reminds me plan of MittelEuropa, created 100 years ago. Poland must be dominated by German, be a German vassal, Ukraine should be given to Russia. That’s the essence of this plan. And Nordstream supports it.
The biggest problem for Poland is not Russia, but Germany, which is a bigger threat, economic and cultural. EU has nothing to do, but to stop NordStream and stop every German initiatives, supporting implementation of MittelEuropa plan. Poland must be defended against German economic penetration.
Italy might become an ally in this project, altough Italians have their own geopolitical plans, their sphere of influence is focused on the Balkans. Italy also prefers Russia, than Central Europe.
We, Eastern Europeans are between 2 threats – Western European and Russian.
That’s why Eastern Europe and Central Europe especially must do everything to become an indpedent centre of gravity and we have to think independently about our energy and economic issues.
We should focus more on countries like ,Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azarbaijan but also USA and Canada. These countries are the best alternative to German-Russian imperialism, not only in energy sector.

Posted on 12/22/15 | 9:38 AM CET

jubus

User Reality Check should better stop his anti-Eastern European paranoias. We have been dominated by Germany, Austria, Russia or Turkey for hudreds of years. We know, that Russians, but also Germans (also from Austria)will never be our friends or allies. Never, ever. That’s why we are so anxious about every Russian-German initiative. Radosław Sikorskis, compared NordStream to Ribbentropp-Molotov Plan from 1939. He was right. Prussia/Austria and Russia partitioned Commonwealth and we, Poles remember that. Millions of people have been enslaved by Russia, Austria/Prussia/Germany and these people have this in mind.
It is pure geopolitics, nothing more. We have to think about ourselves, not about Germans or Russians, they want to enslave us, once more.